WWII veteran receives high-school diploma

Sixty-nine years after he dropped out of school to join the U.S. Navy, World War II veteran Vernon Robertson of New Philadelphia officially is a member of the Cambridge High Class of 1945.

Jon Baker TimesReporter.com staff writer @jbakerTR

Sixty-nine years after he dropped out of school to join the U.S. Navy, World War II veteran Vernon Robertson of New Philadelphia officially is a member of the Cambridge High Class of 1945.

Dennis Dettra, superintendent of Cambridge City Schools, drove to New Philadelphia on Friday to present the diploma to Robertson, who turned 88 in October.

"I'm happy I've got it, and my kids are happy," Robertson said. He has three children, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

In October, Robertson, a Cambridge native, read a story in his hometown newspaper, The Daily Jeffersonian, about a World War II veteran from Lorain who was bothered by the fact that he never graduated. Officials at Lorain City Schools heard about it and awarded him a diploma.

State law allows school districts to award diplomas to any living or deceased veteran of World War II, Korea or Vietnam who left school to serve in the armed forces of the United States. The veterans must be Ohio residents.

After Robertson mentioned the article to his family, his granddaughter, Alicia Robertson, contacted Dettra about getting a diploma for her grandfather.

"He mentions this article frequently, so I know the fact that he did not graduate weighs on his mind often," she wrote in an email to the superintendent.

Alicia said the process of filling out the necessary paperwork was very simple. The entire process took a month. On Tuesday, the Cambridge Board of Education voted to award the diploma to Robertson.

Robertson joined the Navy in October 1944, while he was a junior at Cambridge High. He served in World War II and left the service in 1946. He was a member of the Naval Reserves until 1958.

Around 1955, he met his future wife, the late Mildred White, of New Philadelphia. After they married, the family settled inNew Philadelphia, where Vernon worked for I.F. Manufacturing for 31 years before retiring in 1986.

The diploma already has helped Robertson reconnect with family members.

After an article mentioning Robertson appeared in The Jeffersonian this week, he got a surprise telephone call from his cousin, Kenny Harrison, 92, of Cambridge.

"I hadn't talked to him in 30 years," Robertson said.

Dettra said his school district awards about two to three diplomas every year to veterans. In the spring, he delivered one to a man living in Columbus.

"Our board is very happy to do this for veterans," Dettra said. "At the meeting, they reminded me to thank him for his service."

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